Chapter 1

1 Moab rebelleth. 2 Ahaziah, sending to Baal-zebub, hath his judgment by Elijah. 5 Elijah twice bringeth fire from heaven upon them whom Ahaziah sent to apprehend him. 13 He pitieth the third captain, and, encouraged by an angel, telleth the king of his death. 17 Jehoram succeedeth Ahaziah.

1. Moab rebelled. The second book of Kings continues the narrative of the reign of Ahaziah of Israel, begun in 1 Kings 22:51. The division between first and second Kings at this point is thus purely arbitrary.

David had reduced Moab to vassalage (2 Sam. 8:2). After that event, Scripture is silent for a time as to the fortunes of Moab. The country probably regained its independence during the troubles that ensued after the death of Solomon. According to the Moabite Stone (see Additional Note on ch. 3) Omri and Ahab oppressed Moab. But the death of Ahab and the sickness of Ahaziah gave Moab the opportunity to revolt. It was common in the ancient Orient for dependencies to revolt upon the death of a king. For a continuation of the narrative concerning Moab see 2 Kings 3:4–27.

2. Ahaziah fell down. The king was probably looking out of a window in one of the upper stories of his palace (see ch. 9:30). Windows in the East are to this day generally closed by lattices of interlaced wood, which open outward; consequently, if they are not securely fastened, one who leans against them may easily fall out.

Baal-zebub. Literally, “lord of flies.” In the ancient Orient fly-gods were worshiped. In the NT, Beelzebub is the prince of demons (Matt. 10:25; 12:24; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18, 19). The majority of the NT Greek manuscripts have the form Beelzeboul, meaning “the lord Zebul.” In the Ras Shamrah texts (see Vol. I, p. 128) a form similar to the Greek is found, namely, zbl bФl ars. The mention of this deity in such ancient texts as those of Ras Shamrah shows his great antiquity.

Ekron. The northernmost of the five chief Philistine cities. The god of Ekron was supposed to give information concerning future events, and thus was widely consulted.

3. The angel. This was not the first appearance of an angel to Elijah. On the occasion of the prophet’s flight from Jezebel, the angel of the Lord had appeared to comfort and strengthen the discouraged fugitive (1 Kings 19:5, 7). Now the angel directed him to go and meet the messengers of the ailing king, who, in his extremity, was seeking after the gods of the heathen. A short time later the angel again appeared to Elijah, instructing him to acquiesce in Ahaziah’s request (2 Kings 1:15).

Go to enquire. Ahaziah had, during the reign of his father Ahab, witnessed many of the wonderful works of God. He well knew the ability of God to help, and he also knew that terrible judgments were meted out against transgressors. For him now to turn to a god of Ekron was to deny Jehovah and to invite judgments upon himself.

4. Shalt surely die. Those who turn from the true God to the gods of the heathen, find not life but death. It is God alone who is the author of life, and it is in His power to heal and restore. When Satan, under systems of false religion, promises to heal, it is only to bring individuals under the control of his cruel will, henceforth to rule them with a power it seems impossible to break.

5. Now turned back. When the messengers returned so quickly from their errand, Ahaziah knew that they could not have completed their journey to Ekron, and he wished to know the reason why.

6. A man. The messengers either failed to recognize Elijah or though it best not to tell the king who it was that had sent the warning.

Thou sendest to enquire. Ahaziah’s sending a delegation to inquire of the god of Ekron was to show open and public contempt for Jehovah. This was an insult to the Majesty of heaven which could not be allowed to go unrebuked. Israel must learn that the gods of the Philistines were powerless to give aid in the hour of extremity, and that Jehovah still sat on His eternal throne.

7. What manner? As soon as the message was delivered, Ahaziah may have known that it could have come only from Elijah, for who else would speak with such certainty and courage? The king was well acquainted with the appearance of the prophet, hence asks for a description to establish the identification.

8. An hairy man. The words probably denote a man with flowing locks, abundant beard, and general profusion of hair, or the reference may be to Elijah’s garment of hair.

A girdle of leather. This was a rough garment of skin. The Jews generally wore garments of wool or linen, which were soft and comfortable, but these would not have been suitable to Elijah in the difficult circumstances under which he was forced to live. John the Baptist wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leathern girdle (Matt. 3:4), like his forerunner.

9. Captain of fifty. Ahaziah hated but feared the prophet. The message of doom did not bring the king to repentance. He knew that he was a dying man, but he was filled with bitterness and anger, and was determined to send for the prophet to avert, if possible, the threatened judgment. A band of 50 armed men was sent to intimidate the prophet.

10. Fire from heaven. Ahaziah’s recourse to threat in an effort to persuade Elijah to retract his pronouncement of doom was foolish. It showed that the king cherished the same attitude as had his father. Ahab had held Elijah accountable for the disastrous drought in Israel (1 Kings 18:17). Now Ahaziah, by the same perverted reasoning, held Elijah responsible for the consequences he knew would be sure to follow upon the prophet’s word. Such a highhanded attempt to dictate to the prophet and thus reverse the plans of God could not remain unrebuked. The wrath of God fell upon the company of soldiers. Against the presumption and rebellion of Ahaziah the majesty and the supremacy of God stood revealed. For a NT allusion to this incident, see Luke 9:52–55.

11. Another captain. By the sending of a second 50 Ahaziah displayed his perversity and stubbornness. He had received overwhelming evidence of divine displeasure upon his course, but he was determined to stubbornly pursue his ill-directed purposes.

13. Fell on his knees. The captain of the third 50 humbled himself before God. He approached Elijah on his knees, not as a worshiper but as a suppliant. He knew that if he manifested the same spirit as did the first two captains, he would meet the same fate.

14. Be precious. Instead of commanding Elijah to go to the king, the captain asked for mercy, that his life might be spared. There was no daring contempt of the prophet as had evidently been the case in the first two instances, but a respect and a fear that were accepted by God.

15. Go down. God would not allow His servant to be coerced by the wicked king. Ahaziah had had the evidence of a wonderful display of divine power, but he refused to humble himself before the Most High. He deserved a message of stern rebuke, and Elijah was commissioned to go with the soldiers to deliver that message. Elijah was told not to fear. After bringing down fire from heaven at Carmel, Elijah had allowed himself to succumb to his fears before the wrath of Jezebel. Now he was particularly admonished not to be afraid of the king in spite of these three exhibitions of Ahaziah’s wrath.

16. Shalt surely die. The dying monarch was face to face with the prophet he sought to threaten. Yet it was not Elijah but Ahaziah who was now to meet his doom. The king had turned from the God of Israel to a contemptible idol of a Philistine city. Instead of bearing witness to the might of Jehovah and giving glory to His holy name, he had brought the name of the Lord into reproach before heathen enemies of the people of God. Without fear, Elijah made clear to the king the terrible price he must pay for his apostasy.

17. He died. Impenitent to the end, hating God and utterly helpless before His servant, Ahaziah died. As king of Israel at a time when God was ready to manifest Himself in such wonderful ways, Ahaziah had before him an unusual opportunity to lead his people away from the ways of evil into paths of righteousness and peace. But he failed. He went to his death with the message of divine rebuke ringing in his ears. Such is the end of those who resist and defy the Spirit of God.

Jehoram. Or Joram (see note on p. 78), another son of Ahab, apparently named after Jehoram of Judah, the son of Jehoshaphat.

The second year. In ch. 3:1 we are told that he came to the throne in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat. This double dating of Joram’s accession in Israel is a matter of note, for it indicates that Jehoram in Judah was reigning before the death of his father, the 18th year of Jehoshaphat being the 2d year of Jehoram’s joint reign. Thus evidently Jehoram began his joint reign with his father in Jehoshaphat’s 17th year.

Ellen G. White comments

1–18PK 207–212

1     5T 191

2     CH 457; PK 207; 5T 192

2–45T 191

2, 6 CH 455

3     CT 255; Ev 608; 5T 197; 8T 69

3, 4 AA 290; PK 208

4     5T 195

7–13PK 208

15, 16  PK 209

16   PK 224

17   PK 210